With Australian conference honours on the line for the Brumbies and the Waratahs, national coach Robbie Deans' naming of a 25-man squad for the Wallabies' looming series with the touring British and Irish Lions was of little concern for White and Cheika on Thursday.

White omitted scrum anchor Dan Palmer from his match-day 22 and left rugged centre Pat McCabe, a Deans favourite, on the bench for the table-topping Brumbies.

After coming off the bench in his long-awaited comeback from wrist surgery, Barnes was instrumental in the Waratahs' season-saving win over the Stormers last week but will have to bide his time before getting one last chance to impress Deans and his co-selectors.

Palmer had been considered by some as arguably Australia's strongest scrummager this season but White has chosen to rest the former Waratah for precautionary reasons due to a foot niggle.

Kepu had scans for a calf injury earlier in the week but had been confident of playing.

The absence of the tighthead hopefuls leaves seasoned Wallabies teammates and likely front-rower starters against the Lions, Benn Robinson and Brumby Ben Alexander to lock horns in what shapes an intriguing scrum battle at ANZ Stadium.

But Palmer must now be in serious doubt of being overlooked for Deans' initial 25-man squad, though the coach will add a final six to the group on June 11.

White, though, didn't feel Palmer's non-selection for the Brumbies' biggest derby of the season would harm his Wallabies prospects.

"And if it does, then I'm sure Palms understands that at the end of the day the bigger picture is the Brumbies," said the hard-nosed former World Cup-winning coach.

"When you look at the props, you've got (James) Slipper, Kepu and Robinson, Ben Alexander and Ryan who played in the last tour - there's five props there before him before Palms even gets mentioned.

"And if he does get picked, it will be because of what he's done in the last bit of the season, not on what's supposed to happen in the next two weeks."

The Waratahs will wear black arm bands and a minute's silence will also be observed before the match following the death earlier in the week of Trish Douglas, the mother of NSW lock Kane Douglas.